Comparison Word Problems up to 20: How Many More or Fewer?
āļø It's a matchup! When two big groups go head-to-head, we use subtraction to find out exactly who won, and by how much.
Concept
Comparing two groups is a special kind of subtraction. Nobody is "taking anything away" or "eating" anything. You are just looking at the difference! šÆ **The "Match Up" Trick:** "Sara read 15 books. John read 9 books. How many more books did Sara read?" * If Sara and John both read 9 books, it would be a tie. * But Sara read 15! * The difference between their scores is the answer. * **Equation:** 15 - 9 = 6. * **Answer:** Sara read 6 more books. If the question asked, "How many **fewer** books did John read?", the math is EXACTLY THE SAME! The difference is still 6. John read 6 fewer books.
Try it
Who has more? Who has fewer? Find the difference! **Instructions:** Find the difference between the two numbers to answer the question. **Problem 1:** Team A scored 14 points. Team B scored 8 points. How many more points did Team A score? * Equation: 14 - 8 = ___ * Answer: ___ more points. **Problem 2:** A big dog weighs 18 pounds. A small dog weighs 10 pounds. How many fewer pounds does the small dog weigh? * Equation: 18 - 10 = ___ * Answer: ___ fewer pounds. **Problem 3:** There are 12 red cars and 19 blue cars in the parking lot. How many fewer red cars are there? * Answer: ___ fewer red cars. **Problem 4:** You have 11 markers and your friend has 15 markers. What is the difference between your markers? * Answer: ___